Laudibus in sanctis is a five-part Latin motet by the renaissance English composer William Byrd (1543-1623). The text for this motet is a paraphrase, in Latin elegiac verse, of Psalm 150, the musical Psalm that exhorts praise of God in all manner of instruments. Perhaps this is the reason that Byrd chose this psalm. Byrd illustrates this catalogue of instruments by writing quavers under words such as 'cantate' and 'laeta chorea'.

This work often utilizes a homophonic texture rather than a polyphonic one. While Byrd had problems in previous homophonic writing (such as in Siderum Rector), by the time he wrote this work, he is confident in his approach and the motet correspondingly works very well. While not containing the breadth of Haec dicit Dominus, this is a most admirable composition and is consequently well-known.



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